North Norfolk Murder Mysteries Box Set: Books 1-3

DS Sara Hirst #1-3

by Judi Daykin

In this three-book box set:

Book 1: Under Violent Skies
Detective Sara Hirst has moved from London to Norfolk Police's Serious Crimes Unit. She wants to know the truth about her father, who has connections to the area. Her mother won’t tell her the real story. Sara’s first call-out is to a decomposing body discovered in a ditch on a local farm. How does the murder relate to a recent spate of thefts? Who wanted the victim dead?

Book 2: Into Deadly Storms
Dawn breaks as a dog-walker finds a dead body, half-naked and wrapped tightly in an old groundsheet. Sara is first on the scene. Who is the victim? And who will be next? Sara must take on some of Britain’s most wanted criminals if she’s to find out the truth.

Book 3: A Brutal Season
Carnival week in Cromer. It’s been an easy-going summer for the Norfolk Police’s Serious Crimes Unit — until this morning. The body of Daisy Shaw, the Carnival Queen, is discovered in a back alley, stretched out on the cobbles. The atmosphere in Cromer soon grows nasty. And the murder detectives are right in the thick of it, trying to piece together what happened to Daisy. Meanwhile, both Sara’s mother and boyfriend have bombshells to drop. Can Sara solve the case before anyone else gets hurt?

969 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2022

About the author

Yorkshire born, Judi has lived, worked and made theatre in Norfolk for the last forty years. She completed her MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at the University of East Anglia (UEA), and her debut novel was shortlisted for the Little, Brown UEA writer's prize in 2019.

'I love the beautiful, vast skies and watery landscapes of Norfolk. Our home in a village on the north coast can feel wonderfully remote, even though the nearest town is only a few miles away. I can't imagine living anywhere better than this.'

Judi is also a working actor, and has been known to twiddle the knobs on the sound desk for the variety shows at Cromer Pier. She runs her own theatre company, Broad Horizons, specialising in commissioning new plays recovering and retelling women's stories.

Reviews

[Margaret Heher]

Generally I love these police procedurals, especially when featuring female lead characters written by women. This series started out on a good note. Characters were three dimensional, incident's believable; this third one became tedious. The class and race divisions could have been explored rather than repeatedly exposed. The descriptions of incidents became tedious rather than adding to the mystery of the crimes. The spousal abuse turned out to be one more flaw of a seriously flawed man and was not handled well. I will begin the 4th title, if no improvements probably will not attempt a 5th.

[Bob Hurley]

Pier Less

My in laws lived on Prince of Wales Road in Cromer and my wife and I and our son spent many Happy family holidays on the Broads and in Cromer. Carnival week is one of the best weeks of the year. Hence I felt so much affinity with these tales, places I knew, with some great story telling. DI Edwards, Sara and the team finally work together to deliver justice for those that needed them most. Great story telling with wonderful memories of the Noryh of Norfolk. Been there, seen that. Just was never found guilty 😉

[Janice Clark]

This is a series (not a serial)--each book stands alone but each adds to a continuing story. They have all the elements of what I consider a good mystery: well-developed complex characters, multiple plot threads that weave together, lots of clues but an abundance of red herrings as well. The author even sneaks in some commentary about outmoded prejudices and dealing with social "dinosaurs"--not in a preachy way, just as part of the unfolding story. An enjoyable reading experience.

[Jillian]

I tried the second and third stories after disappointment in the first. Ended up skipping whole sections and skimming to grasp the plot line. More bad things happen, Sara gains some acceptance, police partially successful, enough left of criminal network to fuel more stories. I won’t be reading them.

[Kim Russell]

Although I enjoyed reading books set in places I know very well because I live in Norfolk, the writing style, the many typos and grammatical errors, and the one-dimensional characters spoiled the series for me. I did give it a chance and read all three books, but I will pass on any further books by this author.

[gordon w moore]

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed read this series... The detectives were portrayed as truly human with their own difficulties that they were also dealing with.

[Juliana]

Gripping mystery

Artfully written and the kind of book you can’t put down. Human nature skillfully displayed as well as in depth descriptions of environments.

[Bettye Dohack]

Great reading

I really enjoyed this box set well written and couldn't put down liked Sara character. The author is good wtiter

[peter lennard]

Great

Loved reading these books keeps you interested all the way throughout great characters and all very believable love the locations as well

[gwen graves]

Good

I liked all three stories, although I had read the first one " Under Violent Skies", before. I re-read it.

[Sue]

Enjoyable read

Enjoyable read with good characters and intriguing plots. Would recommend and will keep an eye out for further books by Judi Daykin.